The Eternal God Emperor and the Demon Ancestor

Chapter 41 The Bet

"Gentlemen of the Temple of Destiny, you are too late."

Mingde spoke softly, his voice low, yet it pierced through the shattered void of the Taiwei Starfield and drowned out the roar of collapsing stars. He raised his hand in a gesture, and the starry chessboard that had just stretched for tens of millions of miles, adorned with billions of stars, and embodying the killing intent of the Heavenly Dao, suddenly emitted a hazy blue light, rapidly shrinking as if drawn by an invisible force. In an instant, the starry chessboard that could cover the sea of ​​stars and suppress heaven and earth shrank from a colossal object encompassing the entire universe to the size of a millstone. The star patterns on the chessboard flowed, and two violent divine auras were faintly locked in place, quietly hovering above his head. The righteous aura of Confucianism and Taoism lingered around it, making its divine power even more unfathomable.

Seeing him casually put away his treasure, the Venerable Judge's eyes flashed with a fierce light, and he shouted sharply, "Insolence!" Before his words even finished, the Blade of Judgment in his palm was already unsheathed. The blade was as black as ink, drawing upon the laws of killing in the world, and in an instant, it unleashed several divine rays of light condensed to the extreme. Wherever the divine rays passed, the starry sky was directly torn apart, chaotic energy overflowed, and even the stable star field barrier around it cracked with spiderweb-like fissures, carrying the power to kill gods of the Boundless Realm, and slashed down towards Venerable Mingde.

"A mere grain of rice dares to shine?" The Divine Venerable Mingde's expression remained unchanged. With a light tap of his fingertip, a wisp of pure Confucian and Taoist holy light burst forth, instantly transforming into a pillar of light reaching the heavens. Its majestic heavenly might swept across the four directions, like a blazing sun falling to earth. The divine rays that had cleaved the starry sky collided with it, but they melted away like ice and snow, without even causing a ripple, before completely dissipating into the void.

He slowly shook his head, his tone carrying a hint of gentle anger and disdain, like that of a Confucian scholar: "The gods of the Temple of Destiny are as arrogant as ever, showing no courtesy whatsoever. They are truly impolite."

"Hahaha! Venerable Mingde's words hit the nail on the head!"

Suddenly, a deafening laugh echoed through the void. Immediately afterward, dazzling divine light tore through the void, and the gods of the Heavenly Court arrived one after another, each radiating divine light and exuding immense power. In an instant, they erected a stable divine domain amidst the shattered star field. The Buddha of the Joyful Zen Sect of the Flower Realm, with a divine body ten thousand feet tall, clad in a crimson kasaya, radiated Buddhist light that even held up the surrounding shattered star fragments, preventing them from falling. Qi Jingting, the leader of the Netherworld Sect, wore a black robe that moved without wind, his body interwoven with Dao principles. Wherever he walked, the void froze into ice, even swallowing light. The White Tiger God of the White Tiger Realm, whose true form was the White Tiger Divine Beast, concealed his divine body within divine light, his roar faintly reverberating throughout the universe. The king mark on his forehead emitted golden light, his divine might awe-inspiring. The old Heavenly Lords of the Seven Star Civilization and the Thousand Star Civilization possessed a deep and abyss-like aura, seemingly merging with the starry sea. In addition, the Buddha Venerable of the Western Paradise Buddhist Realm, the Dragon Venerable of the Heavenly Dragon Realm, and the strongest beings of the ancient civilization factions also appeared one after another. All the top combat forces of the Heavenly Court Realm gathered together, and the divine light collided with the remaining fierce energy of the Hell Realm, bursting out a series of earth-shattering roars.

"Kong Fan Nu! Our battle yesterday was still unresolved, and today is the perfect time to settle it!" The Buddha's voice boomed like a bell, his Buddhist divine power surging. As his crimson robes fluttered, countless golden rays shot towards the opposite starry sky, his gaze fixed on the majestic man riding on the back of the giant wolf of the Azure Sky, the Wrathful God.

The Wrathful God sat atop a wolf's back, clad in pristine white robes, his face cold and expressionless, devoid of joy or sorrow. His gaze passed over the Buddha of Determined Judgment, landing directly on the God of Bright Virtue. He spoke slowly, his voice carrying a weight that seemed to transcend time: "Bright Virtue, your foundation in Confucianism and Taoism is profound, and your combat prowess is unparalleled in the universe. It seems that the Confucian lineage is about to experience another great flourishing. Given time, you will surely be able to stand shoulder to shoulder with those founding Confucian patriarchs of the Kunlun Realm, and leave your mark on history."

The Venerable Mingde bowed slightly, his tone humble yet dignified, his aura of Confucianism emanating from him: "You flatter me, Venerable. I have merely followed in the footsteps of the Confucian sages, standing on the shoulders of giants to glimpse a few aspects of the Great Dao. How dare I compare my meager achievements with those of the Confucian Ancestor?"

"Stop your pretense!" The Celestial Destiny Venerable couldn't hold back any longer and shouted sternly. A battle weapon had already appeared in his palm, radiating divine light as he prepared to attack. "Mingde, hand over the Ferocious God Venerable at once! Otherwise, the Temple of Destiny will use all its power to suppress you."

"Heavenly Mandate, step back." The Wrathful God Venerable raised his hand and waved it lightly. An invisible divine force blocked the Heavenly Mandate Venerable. His eyes flashed with a sharp light, and he said in a deep voice, "I ask you, did Feng Caiyi make a bet with you in the past, to decide the life and death of my twelve great gods by the outcome of a battle between two Saint Realm cultivators? Is this true?"

The Venerable Mingde nodded frankly: "That is indeed the case. However, I did not expect that you would launch a surprise attack on the Taiwei Realm, which forced the competition to be postponed."

"Past transgressions will be forgiven; I shall reignite this battle today." The Wrathful God's voice resounded, and the colossal wolf beneath him roared, its cry shaking the starry sea. "Virtuous God, do you dare accept?"

Mingde God Venerable's eyes narrowed slightly, and he thought to himself that Nutian God Venerable was definitely not here for the twelve great gods. He immediately smiled and said, "Nutian God Venerable is bringing up the bet again now just for the lives of those twelve great gods? I'm afraid this matter is not that simple."

Upon hearing this, the Wrathful God Venerable's palm suddenly shone with light. First, a large silver cauldron with four legs slowly emerged. The cauldron was engraved with the mountain ranges and totems of the Taiwei Realm. It was the Taiwei Divine Cauldron, the inherited divine artifact of the Taiwei Realm. Divine light flowed within the cauldron, and the pressure of the artifact shook the heavens, even freezing the surrounding space and time. Immediately afterward, a colorful sphere of light floated out. Within the sphere, the phantoms of billions of beings from the Taiwei Realm could be vaguely seen. Cries and pleas for help came through the sphere, poignant and moving. These were the remaining embers of life in the Taiwei Realm.

"I wager the Taiwei Divine Cauldron, plus the seeds of fire from all living beings in the Taiwei Realm," the Wrathful Heavenly God's voice ethereal. "If the Heavenly Court loses, you will hand over the Ferocious God to me; if my Hell Realm loses, the Divine Cauldron and the seeds of fire from all living beings will be given to you, Mingde."

The Mingde Divine Lord's pupils suddenly contracted, his Confucian aura instantly froze, and his tone became a few degrees somber: "The Heroic Divine Lord... has ultimately fallen into your hands."

On the day the Taiwei Realm fell, the Taiwei God, knowing there was no way to reverse the situation, entrusted the life-giving fire of the realm to his young son, the Xiong Shenjun, instructing him to take the cauldron to the Heavenly Palace to seek the protection of the Jade Emperor. Now, both the cauldron and the fire are in the hands of the Wrathful Heaven God, and the Xiong Shenjun must have been hunted down by the Hell Realm and has already perished. Even the last hope of the Taiwei Realm has fallen into enemy hands.

"Mingde, you must not agree to this!" A powerful voice came from the void. The divine body of the Shang Ancestor manifested, level with the sky, with divine laws flowing around him and divine light shining brightly. "A divine artifact and a few mortal beings, you think you can exchange for a god at the peak of the Great Freedom and Boundless Realm? Kong Fan is furious. Your wishful thinking is too much."

The fierce and terrifying cultivation is almost indestructible and immeasurable. Its combat power and value far exceed that of the Taiwei Divine Cauldron. Mingde, you cannot agree to this bet.

"The Shang Ancestor is absolutely right!" The old Heavenly Lord of the Seven Star Civilization hurriedly echoed, his tone urgent, "Lord Mingde, although the Taiwei Divine Cauldron is a supreme treasure, the Fierce and Haunted is a core deity of the Temple of Destiny, ruthless in his methods, having killed countless cultivators of our Heavenly Court. If he were released back into the Hell Realm, he would surely unleash boundless slaughter once more, and countless lives would be tragically slaughtered. It would truly be a loss for us all!"

"Your Majesty, please reconsider!" The Heavenly Palace War God Zhao Gongming also arrived, traversing space. His silver armor was stained with blood, clearly indicating he had just arrived from another battlefield. His gaze fell upon the five-colored sphere of light, his expression extremely grave. "The beings of the Taiwei Realm are indeed pitiful and need saving, but the calamities they face far outweigh this. Our Heavenly Court's Holy Realm is already weak; if we release them back into the wild, the battlefield will surely suffer heavy losses in the future. I implore Your Majesty to consider the greater good!"

The gods of the Heavenly Court immediately erupted in discussion. Some agreed with the words of Shang Zu and Zhao Gongming, while others pitied the beings of the Taiwei Realm and advocated accepting the wager. The clamor was deafening, and no consensus could be reached. However, the Mingde God-Emperor remained calm throughout, clearly having already made his decision. After the gods' voices subsided slightly, he declared loudly, "Wutian God-Emperor, I accept this wager! Let the outcome of the battle between the two sacred realms determine the life and death of the Fierce-Hearted God-Emperor and the twelve great gods of your palace, as well as the ownership of the Taiwei Divine Cauldron and the fire seed of all living beings!"

These words caused an uproar in Xinghai!

The old Heavenly Lord of the Thousand Star Civilization was so angry that his beard and hair stood on end, furious at his son's incompetence: "Mingde! How could you be so reckless! The Hell Realm has seen an explosion of Saint Realm geniuses this generation, with several Yuanhui-level representatives alone. In contrast, our Heavenly Court has long been weak in the Saint Realm, with only a handful of top geniuses. Your actions are tantamount to handing over the Fierce Horde to the heavens! You are disregarding the overall situation of the Heavenly Court!"

"My Lord, please calm your anger." The Venerable Mingde spoke with certainty, his Confucian aura growing ever more profound, carrying an undeniable majesty. "I have my reasons for this action. In ten days, you will all know the truth. You only need to trust me."

Having said that, he looked at the Wrathful God and his voice resounded throughout the surrounding area: "Since the bet is set, the time will be as previously agreed, ten days from now; the battlefield will be in this Taiwei Star Region! At that time, the Saint Realm experts from both realms will gather to determine who is superior!"

"Very well!" The Wrathful God responded loudly, his white robes fluttering. "I trust in your Confucian and Taoist integrity and will not go back on my word. We will meet again in ten days in the Taiwei Star Region."

"Divine Lord, should we discuss this matter with Qingzu?" The Judgment Venerable hesitated and whispered a reminder, "The three upper races participated the most in this Hell Realm army, and Qingzu is the representative of the three upper races. We need his approval."

Before he finished speaking, a blue divine light pierced through the void, and Qing Cang slowly stepped out. His figure was not particularly imposing, but it exuded an ancient and powerful aura that suppressed countless ages. His blue skin shone with a magnificent, glassy luster under the starlight, and he was surrounded by various fundamental laws. Every step he took caused the starry sea to tremble.

"I agree with the proposal of the Wrathful God." Qing Cang spoke, his voice filled with the vicissitudes of time, which resounded to the ears of all the powerful beings in the Hell Realm, like a decree from heaven. "To exchange a Taiwei Divine Cauldron for a ferocious god who is close to immortality and immeasurable, how could I refuse such a sure-fire deal? Since the Wrathful God has spoken, I will naturally give my full support."

The gods of the Dead Clan and the Underworld Clan, who had previously expressed their objections, fell silent upon hearing this. Qing Cang was the representative of the three upper clans and one of the four strongest spiritual forces in the Underworld, with unparalleled prestige. Once he made his statement, no one dared to object anymore.

The Wrathful God nodded slightly and cupped his hands, saying, "Thank you for your support, Ancestor Qing." He then turned to the gods of the Temple of Destiny, his gaze sweeping over the two Venerables, Judgment and Heavenly Fate, and said in a deep voice, "Feng Caiyi is injured and in seclusion, and Xiong Hai has been captured. From today onwards, I will temporarily take charge of the affairs of the Temple of Destiny. Judgment and Heavenly Fate, you two will take charge of the Judgment Division and the Heavenly Fate Division, which are the core of the temple's secular power. Do you have any objections?"

He had already made his plans. The God of Joy was his confidant, and the God of Calamity was a junior promoted by Feng Caiyi. Only the two Venerables of Judgment and Destiny were the most senior and held real power. He needed to get the two of them to submit in order to secure his control of the temple.

"We are willing to obey the command of the Wrathful God!" The two Venerables, Judgment and Destiny, exchanged a glance, bowed, and accepted the order. The other gods also bowed their heads. The Wrathful God was a top-tier combatant of the Temple of Destiny, with unfathomable cultivation. He was also the son of the Heavenly Venerable, of noble birth. As the master of White Robe Valley, if he had not entered the Temple of Destiny, the position of patriarch of the Underworld Clan would never have been given to Gong Xuanzang. His status and strength were sufficient to take charge of the temple.

The Temple of Destiny, the Dead Race, and the Underworld Race all had no objections, and the Stone Race gods naturally didn't dare to say anything more. The Wrathful God, in his capacity as commander-in-chief of the Underworld Allied Forces, immediately issued an order to all races: "Within ten days, select the top geniuses of each race's Saint Realm, ensuring they are the cream of the crop in their respective Saint Realms, and send them all to the Taiwei Star Region. There must be no mistakes! In this competition, only victory is permitted; defeat is not an option!"

As soon as the order was given, messengers from all the races of the underworld broke through the air and disappeared, and countless streaks of light appeared in the starry sea.

On the other hand, the Shang Ancestor remained silent, clearly still having doubts about Mingde's decision; the gods of the Heavenly Realm watched coldly, adopting a wait-and-see attitude, unwilling to easily lose their own geniuses; only the Heavenly Palace, the Temple of Truth, the Western Buddhist Realm, the Heavenly Dragon Realm, and the ancient civilization factions immediately responded to Mingde's call, ordering their clans to quickly dispatch top geniuses of the Saint Realm to the Taiwei Star Region.

Fortunately, when Feng Caiyi made the bet, the Heavenly Court had already made preparations, sending a group of top geniuses from the mortal world to the Mirror of Truth for arduous training, using the power of the mirror to temper their cultivation. Now, they only need to be summoned back to participate in the battle. Meanwhile, the Temple of Truth is currently holding the Great Sage Arena, where thousands of top Great Sages from all realms of the Heavenly Court are competing to select the strongest. This is a good opportunity to finalize the participants. All the previous arrangements are now being put to use, saving a lot of trouble.

"We'll meet again in ten days!" The Wrathful God, riding the Azure Sky Giant Wolf, glanced deeply at the Bright Virtue God, then swept his gaze over the gods of the Heavenly Court, and declared loudly, "I want to see whether the Heavenly Court or my Hell Realm will prevail among the Saint Realm's prodigies of this generation!" With that, he raised his hand and tore through space, his giant wolf leaping into the void, followed closely by the gods of the Temple of Destiny and the Netherworld army, their figures vanishing into the depths of the starry sea in an instant.

Qing Cang sat atop a remnant star, flicked his finger, and a blue divine light pierced a stable spatial tunnel. He stepped inside and said in a deep voice, "Gods of the Death Clan, follow me back to camp to select the prodigies and prepare for battle in ten days!" The Gods of the Death Clan bowed and accepted the order, following Qing Cang into the tunnel. The tunnel closed, and they vanished without a trace.

Seeing this, the other gods of the Hell Realm also activated their divine power, breaking through the void to depart. Before leaving, the War God Xuantian, leading the Undying Blood Clan gods, deliberately looked back at Mingde. He saw the starry chessboard above Mingde's head shining brighter, and his aura not only not weakening due to the fierce battle, but growing even stronger. He was filled with apprehension, thinking to himself, "This Mingde is terrifying. He has slain three top-tier experts in succession, and after fighting for so long, he seems to grow stronger with each battle. If we meet on the battlefield in the future, I must not confront him head-on. It's best to let someone else take his place. My old bones can't withstand his onslaught." With a sigh, he rode the Crimson Temple, transforming into a streak of blood light, and disappeared into the vast sea of ​​stars.

After all the gods of the underworld had retreated, the Taiwei Starfield finally regained a brief period of peace, leaving only devastated star ruins and the lingering stench of blood in the void. The Venerable Mingde raised his hand and stroked the starry chessboard above his head. Instantly, the ferocious divine auras of the Venerable Xionghai and the Great God Luoding emanated from the board. The two desperately rammed into the board's restrictions, causing the star patterns on its surface to fluctuate violently.

"Still dare to resist." The Divine Venerable Mingde uttered a calm shout, taking out two sacred books of Confucianism from his robes. The two books hung in the sky and earth, transforming into two pillars of light. The vast Confucian and Taoist essence continuously poured into the chessboard, like the two poles of heaven and earth suppressing the four directions. The chessboard, which had been violently fluctuating, instantly calmed down, and the fierce aura and Luo Ding's divine energy on the board gradually weakened.

Mingde Divine Venerable pondered, "With just the Starry Sky Chessboard and the Confucian Ancestor's Sacred Book, I can only temporarily suppress the two of them, and it's difficult to completely refine them. I still need to borrow the Universe Cauldron from my Dao Body for assistance. It's a pity that the Earth Cauldron is in the Abyss of Darkness, with Tianmu guarding it. Going there rashly will surely cause disaster. Otherwise, with the Earth Cauldron's ability to refine gods, I could directly turn the two of them into Origin Divine Pills, saving a lot of trouble."

All nine cauldrons are top-tier artifacts for killing gods, each with its own unique uses. However, the Earth Cauldron is the most powerful in refining gods, capable of transforming their entire bodies into pure primordial elixirs, making it an unparalleled resource for cultivators to advance.

Mingde had long ago decided to use Xionghai and Luoding as stepping stones to reach a higher realm. As for the Saint Realm bet, he never thought he would lose. Even if there were geniuses in the Hell Realm, without the appearance of a Yuanhui-level genius, they could not even force out his hidden trump cards.

"Many thanks to all the seniors for your assistance and protection today." The Venerable Mingde turned around, cupped his hands in a salute to the gods of the Heavenly Court, and spoke humbly, "The ten-day duel concerns the lives of all beings in the Taiwei Realm. I hope you will all lend your assistance, mobilize your talents, and join us in this battle. I am grateful for your help today and will repay you handsomely in the future."

The gods quickly returned the greeting, their expressions extremely respectful.

"You are too kind, Venerable Mingde! Today, you single-handedly slew three top experts from Hell, repelled the Hellish Allied Forces, and ended the war in the Taiwei Star Region. Your merits are immeasurable! We were merely fortunate to be there and benefited from your glory. How could we be considered to be helping you?"

"Indeed! If it weren't for the Divine Lord's miraculous intervention, countless more gods would have perished on our side of the Heavenly Court, and the Taiwei Star Region would likely have already fallen completely. The Divine Lord's actions have saved billions of lives!"

"It's a pity that none of the gods of the Taiwei Realm survived, and the entire Taiwei God's clan was wiped out..." A powerful figure from the Western Universe who was on good terms with the Taiwei God looked at the devastated Taiwei Starfield and couldn't help but sigh and shed tears. Upon hearing this, all the gods became solemn and fell silent.

Over the years, Heaven and Hell have been locked in endless wars, with more defeats than victories. Countless familiar friends and comrades-in-arms have perished on the battlefield, countless realms have been reduced to ruins, and countless lives have been slaughtered. Gazing upon this desolate star field, the gods felt a complex mix of emotions: grief, anger, and utter helplessness at the endless war between the two realms.

The Venerable Mingde remained silent. With the benevolence of a Confucian scholar, he had managed to suppress the army of hell, but he could not avert the destruction of the Taiwei Realm. After a moment, he nodded slightly to the gods: "Everyone, I will return to the Heavenly Court first to prepare for the duel. We will meet again in the Taiwei Star Region in ten days."

His body surged with Confucian light, tearing open a spatial tunnel. His figure flashed into it, heading straight back to the Heavenly Court. The gods gazed in the direction he had left, their minds filled with countless thoughts. They felt both worry about the ten-day duel and awe for this newly ascended Confucian supreme powerhouse. In the vast Taiwei Starfield, only the gods remained, standing amidst a desolate star ruin, quietly awaiting the clash of the peak Saint Realm in ten days.